The Policy Committee of the Chicago Metro Agency for Planning (CMAP) has given green light to the construction of the proposed Illiana Expressway. IDOT has proposed that the Illiana be built as a toll road under a public-private partnership (P3).

The action came when CMAP voted yesterday  11-8 to put the project on its Go to 2040 priority list, making it eligible for federal funding.

CMAP staff and others, including Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel, had argued against prioritizing the proposed toll road between I-55 in Illinois and I-65 in Indiana, saying it would likely pull resources away from higher-priority projects within the metropolitan area.

Last week, the Chicago region's main planning agency had turned thumbs-down on the proposed amid charges that the governor was playing political hardball to get the project approved.

The vote means the road will move to the next step.  The state now will formally seek private partners that build, finance, maintain and operate the Illiana Expressway.

The Illiana Expressway will be a 47-mile toll road running through southern Will County, linking Interstate 55 near Wilmington with I-57 near Peotone and I-65 near Lowell, Indiana.